Yosemite Village expands in southwest Fresno

Published online on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009

Holding her infant daughter in her arms, Michelle Costales called the newly refurbished and expanded Yosemite Village housing development in southwest Fresno a haven in her life.

"I can see myself staying here awhile," the young mother said as she cuddled her 11/2- year-old daughter, appropriately named Haven. "I'm really blessed."

The $10 million expansion of Yosemite Village marks a significant step in what officials hope leads to an extensive makeover of one of Fresno's oldest and most impoverished neighborhoods.

The mile-long stretch of California Avenue near Edison High School was the target of a $20 million HOPE VI federal grant the Fresno Housing Authorities received in 2003. It was the only such award west of the Mississippi River.

The Housing Authorities used the grant to help renovate and expand the 69-unit Yosemite Village; to build the nearby 53-lot Sierra Pointe single-home tract; to construct a community center; and to build roads and other crucial infrastructure.

The improvements to the community aren't finished, said Preston Prince, executive director of the Housing Authorities.

The grant was used as leverage to get additional funding that city and county officials are using to widen California Avenue, buy more land for housing and for the construction of a one-stop service center in collaboration with the Fresno Redevelopment Agency.

The one-stop facility will include a public library, health clinic, student learning center and other community-based agencies and services.

"This phase is done," Prince said as he looked around Yosemite Village. "But the transformation has to keep going. We have to bring more money and services into this community. We can't stop here."

The makeover of Yosemite Village included refurbishing 33 units and adding 36 new ones. They range from one bedroom to four bedrooms, and include single-story and townhome-style apartments.

The complex received two statewide awards for architecture. It has a community center, a pool and a community garden. Rents vary according to the income levels of the residents, who came from all over, including other apartment complexes operated by the Housing Authorities.

One resident, Martha Stephens, said her rent at Yosemite Village is $60 less than it was at Hotel Californian -- and she has three more rooms, a full kitchen and a dishwasher.

"Three more rooms I have to clean," she quipped.

After three years with only a kitchenette, Stephens said she cooked ribs and baked a cake after moving into Yosemite Village two weeks ago. "Yes, I'm happy," she said.

Yosemite Village was fully occupied within a week, said John Porter, the on-site manager.

"This is the best place I've ever managed," said Porter. "It's all about family. People are starting to get to know everybody. It's an awesome community."

Yosemite Village is a stone's throw from Sierra Pointe at California and West avenues, where the Housing Authorities teamed up with Fuqua Homes of Bend, Ore., to buy houses in a part of town that developers ignore.

Twenty-one of the 53 houses are under construction and 21 more prospective buyers are preapproved. Fuqua's regional sales manager, Daniel Morales, said he's happy with the progress considering the sluggish new-home real-estate market.

William Leifer, vice president of the Housing Authorities' Board of Commissioners, acknowledged the lengthy effort and collaboration needed to complete Yosemite Village.

"It takes a community," he said, "to build a village."